Category: South Junction

Gas Works had a successful visit to Sedgerail 2017 at Burnham where we had an enjoyable time. The author particularly liked the layout of Midford shown by the Shepton Model Railway Society – a really good example of a railway flowing through plenty of nicely detailed countryside.

Lots going on in the clubroom as always each Wednesday. The permanent way train for The Summit has been enhanced with an extra four wagons collected from Telford – these are (I’m told) the empty catfish and dogfish in the picture.

Construction of Ayno Junction continues, and the CAD drawings for Prestleigh Viaduct are well advanced. South Junction is being made ready for its trip to Taunton with the new lightweight LED lighting now installed and working complete with a section of ‘cloud cover’. It’s a while since the layout has been out so the next task is to take the layout down, load it into the stillages, and to re-assemble it in the clubroom.

The layout’s very first public appearance was at Expo EM SouthWest at Taunton in 1982. It’s in an unfinished state apparently to encourage the viewer, and it’s perhaps interesting to reflect that we’ve only just got round to making some of the signals work!

Also captured at the exhibition was a very modern image train crossing the unfinished viaduct being very closely watched, by what I think we can assume is an admirer!

A big tidy up at the back of the shed means that we can now replace the curtains and recommence woodworking on the Heyno Junction boards.

An EMU was seen running around Welton Down continuously for most of the evening without derailment or rearranging itself which proves that layout works best without human interference!!

Trains also ran on South Junction which features in the current Model Rail magazine, now available in all good newsagents!

Trains also ran on The Summit. It appears the layout needs extending due to the length of our goods trains which can no longer be accommodated in the refuge sidings or fiddle yard! The point on entry to the fiddle yard left has been sorted by Ed and just needs high-speed testing on all tracks.

The group has very kindly been offered a shed boarded out for a layout and it is hoped that at least some of the boards will be suitable for the new Youth Section layout.

Perhaps the greatest excitement was found on the Hornby-Dublo 3-rail layout which has been in temporary residence at the club for track re-alignment to incorporate a city style station using modified original parts. Dave S spent most of Wednesday wiring up the GPO mail bag equipment so it cannot be connected incorrectly – we get worse with age you know!

Once connected Dave was (allegedly) seen Morris dancing around the board. Then much ‘testing’ took place sending the only mail bag to one side of the layout and then back again – what fun! The HD system must be DIGITAL as it only needs two wires!!

The main achievement this evening was the completion of the fifth board for Heyno Junction, attaching legs to all boards, and erecting all units to becoming a free-standing unit. Despite appearances this is a 4mm layout not a 7mm branch line! Neither is it going to be entirely in tunnel, it’s just that the profile boards for the scenery have yet to be cut to size. Once the end boards are made we will be able to judge the full size of what we are creating!

A new youth member paid us a visit and spent most of the evening with us, perhaps he will join as well. Mean time our youth section did a first draft plan of their new layout, over seen by Paul R!

A couple of locos were run in on Mira Road,so that seems to be working OK, as does Gas Works. A very nice LSWR G16 4-8-0T fresh out of the dirty paint shop ran on the The Summit. A Lima HST with working lights (just one end so far) made an appearance on South Junction. It’s not clear in the photo, but the leading end sports two yellow marker lights and a near side white headlight which attempts to simulate day time running lights. This is a DC layout and the rear lights illuminate before the set moves thanks to some devious electronics involving current limiting LM334Z ICs. Once fitted with separate ICs for the marker lights and headlight this should be true at the leading end too.

This week Gary was able to attend for the first time for a while. As can be seen some of his modern day stock made an excursion from Halsdon Road to run through the Pennines, nothing unusual, and good to see. He also bought with him some redundant picture boards to be used in the club room.

The welding up of the leg frames for Heyno Junction (HJ) has been completed. Two have had adjustable feet attached, as a template for the rest. The legs will be completed next Wednesday. Then we can sort out their attachments to the boards.

In the HJ workshop board H had its track bed fitted and board G constructed ready for track bed. All these boards now need putting together and on legs so the removable section of fiddle yard can be made.

We have been invited to take Gas Works to the opening of James’ new shop at Hambridge, near the smokery, on 11/12 June 2016. The address is:

DCC Train Automation,

Unit 4 The Courtyard, Bowdens Farm, Hambridge, Somerset, TA10 0BP

On Wednesday we were visited by a possible new member, Paul who models at both extremes, 15 inch and 2mm Fine scale, Hopefully he will pay us further visits as he seemed keen to get involved.

Partial automatic semaphore and colour light signalling using servos controlled from the pointwork setting is now up and running in both directions on South Junction and very good it looks too. Peter C was still busy with circuit testers but he assured me only to put together a circuit diagram for future reference.